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#93620 by Dajax
Sat Dec 12, 2009 10:59 am
...play an electric Gibson occasionally? I watched something called John Mayall's 70th birthday concert on TV last night. When I tuned in Mick Taylor was doing a couple of tunes, playing a sunburst Les Paul thru a Blackface Fender, and getting an amazingly thick sound. Then of course, Eric takes the stage with a Strat going into some clone of a tweed Fender, and instead of the classic raunch he had on the Bluesbreaker album, as soon as he starts playing...PLINK, TWANG, PLINK. Now I've got nothing against the sound of a clean Strat, but even a good tone can be the wrong tone. This is the same problem I had with the Cream reunion DVD.

#93624 by fisherman bob
Sat Dec 12, 2009 1:54 pm
What you hear and waht everybody else hears is completely different. The sound Clapton likes sounds great to him I'm sure, as it does to the multitudes of his fans. I liken the Gibson and Fender people to Ford and Chevy people. Some people prefer Gibsons to Fenders just as some people prefer Fords to Chevys. It all depends on personal preference and personal perception. Not only is what you hear different from anybody else, also what the Gibson feels like in your hands is different from what a Gibson in somebody else's hands feels like. I've played with a lot of different guitarists and most seem to prefer one or the other, only a few played both equally. It's just a FOrd-Chevy thing, that's all...

#93628 by Paleopete
Sat Dec 12, 2009 3:05 pm
Have to agree with bob on this one, I like Clapton with a strat just fine, and watched a youtube not long ago of Crossroads that he played on a SG, and another vid with a Gibson 335. Didn't notice any huge difference in sound, it's not so much the guitar with Clapton I think, as it is the tone he uses on his amps.

I like a lot fatter sound myself, and I try to get the fattest, fullest sound I can whether I play my Strat, Peavey Patriot or Cort hollowbody. (The Peavey is kind of like a strat body with telecaster pickups, the Cort is dual Humbuckers so it's basically a hollowbody Les Paul.)

Clapton just likes more treble so it doesn't sound as fat. But grab a copy of his Journeyman CD and listen to Bad Love and a couple of other songs and you'll hear a nice fat sound, probably using a Strat, since he plays them almost exclusively these days. I think he also uses the bridge pickup a lot more rather than the neck or middle. I mostly use the middle and neck pickups, the bridge gets a little use a couple of times a night but the others are used a whole lot more. In earlier years Clapton sounded a lot like he was using the neck pickup a lot more.

My preference in tone has changed over the years too, when I was younger I used lots of treble, now I like loads of bottom end AND loads of treble...Like I always say, I want enough bass to sound like a 10 foot bulldog barking and enough treble to cut glass...in other words, a really full sound. Years ago I wanted lots of bite, so loads of treble. The guitar makes little difference, I get a nice full sound out of either, but the humbucker guitars do get more bite and a little fatter sound, but not as much difference as the amp settings make.

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

#93630 by philbymon
Sat Dec 12, 2009 3:26 pm
Why worry about this guy's preferences? I don't even like him all that much.

I prefer Fenders, but in some situations only a Gibby will do, for some ppl.

Heck, he's prolly got a boatload of Fender endorsements, & feels a certain loyalty is due. Whatever his reasons, though, they are his own, just like yours are.

I've never even owned a Gibson product, & don't feel like I've missed anything musically at all.

#93632 by jw123
Sat Dec 12, 2009 4:22 pm
Hell I just plug in and play. I love that old Reo sound with Gary, songs like Back On The Road again, thats what I go for no matter what guitar and amp Im playing. Clapton has his sound and for the bigger band things he does I think the strat stands out better than a Gibby would. Just my 2 cents!

#93634 by gtZip
Sat Dec 12, 2009 4:40 pm
Clapton started with Gibsons.
Someone turned him on to ye old modified strat, and thats what hes stuck with since.
(I believe it was Fender Strat with Charvel neck, but it may have been before the Charvel thing.)

#93644 by gbheil
Sat Dec 12, 2009 10:44 pm
My Les Paul is just easier to play than my Strat.
I still have it. Cant seem to bring myself to trade it or sell.
I love my little Goddess, sweet little beotch she be. :wink:

#93664 by jimmydanger
Sun Dec 13, 2009 4:18 pm
People started playing Strats en masse after Hendrix. A guitar can influence your style so you must choose wisely, grasshopper. I play both, both guitars have their application. If I want to play anything metal I grab a Paul. Anything that requires a jangly, clean or bluesy tone I use the Strat.

BTW, Clapton has pretty much sucked for decades, but he was god in his day. Loved Cream, and Layla and 461 Ocean Blvd are masterpieces.

#93665 by gbheil
Sun Dec 13, 2009 4:26 pm
I never got LAYLA. I know a lot of real popular music and some really good stuff that I enjoy are very repetative.
But him hollerin LAYLA over and over and over again :roll:
Many of my contemperaries were all in awe of this tune. For me it was ok ok play something else please.

#93722 by jimmydanger
Mon Dec 14, 2009 1:30 pm
George, I was referring to the album Layla, not just the tune. But the tune itself was awesome, hated the acoustic version he did recently.

#93767 by Chippy
Mon Dec 14, 2009 7:14 pm
Does it really matter?
I mean is it that important? (Wait for it) :D

Wouldn't bother me if he played an Armchair to be honest so long as he plays it well. I'm not into brand names, not that I can afford them anyway but its sometimes just about the guy isn't it?

I liked the unplugged Layla bu agree with Sans I really never got it either though its a very technical little tune.

#93777 by Dessalines
Mon Dec 14, 2009 7:57 pm
Kind of silly. He's playing Madison Square Garden, sold out to boot, with his Strat. and we're all sitting here a Bandmix, saying he sounds bad or he sounds good. He does not care at all what is said here. This is a form of wanking.

#93779 by jimmydanger
Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:06 pm
As has been noted, where someone is playing and how much money they make is not an indicator of their value as an artist; only we the audience get to set that. B.Spears makes a 1000 times more than any of us yet I would not say she is a great artist. Beuaty is in the eye of the beholder.

#93785 by HowlinJ
Mon Dec 14, 2009 10:13 pm
When I seen Cream , Eric was playing what I perceived to be a psychedelically painted Gibson SG Standard. It was a long time ago and his shirt was of a similar design as the guitar paint job, which kinda made it look like part of his anatomy. The sound it produced was like nothing I had heard previously. This was before Disraeli Gears, so all the tunes were from "Fresh Cream'. He was playing through Pete Townsend's Vox Super Beatles. (The Who was on the same bill!). Clapton was playing leads over a cacophony of sustained feedback, which that Gibson was producing simultaneously. AWESOME! The man seemed to be a friggin' wizard to me! Ya'll should have been there, but methinks most of you weren't born yet.
:D
Howlin'

#93791 by Chippy
Mon Dec 14, 2009 10:54 pm
LOL! :D

HowlinJ wrote:This was before Disraeli Gears
Howlin'

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